Kimche, Israeli master spy, diplomat, journalist dead at 82

JERUSALEM - Former Israeli diplomat, writer and spy chief David Kimche died overnight at the age of 82, his family announced on Tuesday. The cause of death was not stated.
Born in London in 1928, Kimche emigrated with his parents to Israel 20 years later and he fought in the 1947-1949 Middle East war that accompanied the birth of the Jewish state.

Jerusalem skyline

After his military service he joined the English-language Jerusalem Post newspaper as its Paris correspondent. In 1953 joined Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, where he specialised in clandestine contacts with Morocco, Iran and Lebanon's Christian militias.
Urbane and soft-spoken, he was the antithesis of the stereotypical brash Israeli and he rose through the ranks of the Mossad to become its deputy head.
In 1980 he left the spy agency to become director-general of the Israeli foreign ministry, where he remained until 1986.
After leaving government service he wrote several books on Israeli history, international affairs and diplomacy and was mentioned in the works of other writers on the subject of Israeli intelligence.
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